Picture of the Day · NASA
NGC 3660 and Burçin's Galaxy
2026-05-26
The upper galaxy might be more photogenic, but the lower galaxy is more unusual. The galaxy up top is NGC 3660, a spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way galaxy in that it has several bright blue spiral arms and a central bar of stars, dust, and gas. Captured by chance in the featured deep and colorful image, surprisingly, is SN 2026cff, a supernova found just to the right of the central bar. Farther in the distance is the bottom galaxy, known informally as Burçin’s galaxy, but formally cataloged as LEDA 1000714. The center of this galaxy appears to be an old elliptical galaxy, but it is strangely surrounded by not one but two rings of stars. What created Burçin's galaxy is a mystery and remains a continuing topic of research, but it likely involves the accretion of one or more smaller galaxies.
via NASA APOD
Key facts
- Discovered by
- Max Wolf
- Discovery site
- Heidelberg Observatory
- Discovery date
- 9 January 1901
- Pronunciation
- / ˈ l ɔːr ə / , Italian: [ ˈlaura ]
- Alternative designations
- 1901 FY; 1954 OE; A924 RG
- Observation arc
- 115.03 yr (42015 d)
- Aphelion
- 3.26446 AU (488.356 Gm )
- Perihelion
- 2.62441 AU (392.606 Gm)
- Semi major axis
- 2.94444 AU (440.482 Gm)
- Orbital period sidereal
- 5.05 yr (1845.4 d )
- Mean anomaly
- 5.2504112 °
- Mean motion
- 0° 11 42.269 / day
- Inclination
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- asteroid
- Followed by
- Q154572
- Follows
- 466 Tisiphone
- Parent body
- Sun
- Minor-planet group
- asteroid belt
- Diameter
- +39.471
- Orbital period
- +1845.514944562381
Show 3 more facts
Article
467 Laura (1901 FY) is Main-belt asteroid discovered on 9 January 1901 by Max Wolf at Heidelberg. The semi-major axis of the orbit of 467 Laura lies just inside the 7/3 Kirkwood gap, located at 2.95 AU. It's named after the character Laura from Amilcare Ponchielli's opera La Gioconda.
Laura's orbit The Kirkwood gaps